Thursday, January 15, 2009

This applies to MLB, NFL and NBA. Don't care about NHL, which had it right for decades then diluted its one differential: OT only in Stanley Cup playoffs.

No overtime in regular season.

For MLB that means no extra innings. Let the games end in ties, which are not made up. Judge team position in the standings by winning percentage. Maybe the managers would be more inclined to take some chances to win in regulation, i.e., nine innings.

As for the NFL angst about the OT coin flip, here is an alternative: give the flip to the team on defence when fourth quarter ends. That will inspire the team with the ball to actually try to score and end the damn thing in regulation. This may need some minor tinkering to prevent a team from sitting on the ball, then punting as the fourth quarter runs out.